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DIY's 2006 Best Built Home Special Grand-prize winner, Billie Bentley, moves into her grand-prize home. From "Special Presentation" episode DBBH-S

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Design Choices

"I'm very much looking forward to picking the colors for the carpeting," Billie said, "the type of wood and the cabinets, the shingles--yeah, I get to pick it all out. I'll be like a kid in a candy store."

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Note: When making interior-design choices in your new home, it's often helpful to consult with a professional interior designer, visit a design showroom or design center. As with the Bentleys' case many builders have design centers as part of their building package.

The Bentleys' builder, L&J Development, Inc., has a design center to help with Billie's tough decisions.

The choices for the best built home included the following:

Modern lighting

Beautiful fireplace and hardwood flooring

Efficient dishwasher, cabinetry and eye-catching countertops

Overhead fan

	Figure J
	Figure K
	Figure L
	Figure M

Framing

While Billie was picking out the design elements for her best built home, the house was at the framing stage, where a lot of science is involved. The following best built practices were utilized in the construction of the Bentley home:

• Panelizing walls (figure J) is a best practice that reduces a quarter of the time for the framing stage. The builder installs 12-foot sections of wall made with precut studs and preinstalled sheathing. The panels are then shipped to the site and are very easy to install. Construction drawings are used to build the panels. All the studs are pre-cut and pre-installed, along with sheathing.

• The house also was constructed with three-stud corners, which leaves space for more insulation between the studs. The better insulated a house is the more energy efficient and comfortable it will be.

• Traditionally roof trusses were made using two-by-fours; however, today's best practices use a high heel roof truss (figure K), which increases the framing above the top level of the wall. This allows a builder to add more in the attic insulation. By using high heel roof trusses the homeowner is ensured of a better insulated house that will be more energy efficient and comfortable.

• Before the house can be insulated measures have to be taken to keep moisture and air out of the building envelope. The first step in doing this is called airsealing, which occurs when all of the openings and penetrations in the framing are sealed with caulk and expanding foam insulation.

• Another part of the building envelope is the house wrap (figure L), which goes on after the framing process and is a breathable plastic that prevents air infiltration and moisture penetration. The installation of the doors and windows compromises this seal, however, since openings in the building envelope have to be made to install them.

• To seal these penetrations, window flashing is added. Window flashing is an adhesive tape that prevents moisture from getting into the home. Without it moisture can turn to mold, which can affect indoor air quality and even lead to structural problems due to wood rot.

• Doing a total-fill insulation (figure M) process is a best practice that will create a more comfortable home and lower utility bills. In the case of the Bentleys' home a blown fiberglass filling was used instead of the traditional fiberglass bats. This allows every nook and cranny to be filled in with insulation to create a house that will be less drafty and airtight.

With the last few windows installed Billie and Jesse are able to get an accurate sense of the exterior of their dream house, but the interior was still a mystery.

You Could Be the Next Winner! If you would like to know more about constructing the best built home or if you feel lucky you can enter DIY's Best Built Home sweepstakes by visiting our Best Built Home Zone.

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